Thomas Layman

Now that the chilly days of winter are almost behind us it's time to turn our thoughts to spring - and what more fun way to spend a spring evening than at a wedding!

Now that the chilly days of winter are almost behind us it's time to turn our thoughts to spring - and what more fun way to spend a spring evening than at a wedding!

The history of the Ivoryton Playhouse is inextricably linked to the career of Katharine Hepburn, who spent the summer of 1931 proving to local audiences that she was leading lady material before heading off to Hollywood and stardom. It seems a fitting choice to open our 99th birthday season with a nod to Ms Hepburn and the role that brought her accolades on stage and screen in Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story. Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story in 1939 specifically for Ms. Hepburn, who ended up backing the play, and foregoing a salary in return for a percentage of the play's profits. Co-starring with Hepburn on Broadway were Joseph Cotten, Van Heflin and Shirley Booth . The play opened in late March 1939 and ran for a full year with more than 400 performances and a nationwide tour. The play was a great success on Broadway, and the subsequent movie with Carey Grant and James Stewart was Hepburn's first great triumph after several movie flops had led to movie theater owners including her on a list of actors viewed as 'box office poison.' The movie garnered 6 Academy Award nominations and won two.

The history of the Ivoryton Playhouse is inextricably linked to the career of Katharine Hepburn, who spent the summer of 1931 proving to local audiences that she was leading lady material before heading off to Hollywood and stardom. It seems a fitting choice to open our 99th birthday season with a nod to Ms Hepburn and the role that brought her accolades on stage and screen in Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story. Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story in 1939 specifically for Ms. Hepburn, who ended up backing the play, and foregoing a salary in return for a percentage of the play's profits. Co-starring with Hepburn on Broadway were Joseph Cotten, Van Heflin and Shirley Booth . The play opened in late March 1939 and ran for a full year with more than 400 performances and a nationwide tour. The play was a great success on Broadway, and the subsequent movie with Carey Grant and James Stewart was Hepburn's first great triumph after several movie flops had led to movie theater owners including her on a list of actors viewed as 'box office poison.' The movie garnered 6 Academy Award nominations and won two.